Mumbai crime: Murder suspects slap crime branch officials

Incident occurred on Tuesday after Unit 5 officials went to interrogate a minor victim’s family after they found her molestor’s body in Mahim on Monday

Officials of the Crime Branch (CB) Unit V had to seek help of personnel from the Nirmal Nagar police station after the suspects they had gone to interrogate assaulted them on Tuesday evening. The CB officials had recovered a man’s body from Raheja Bridge in Mahim on Monday. Based on investigation carried out on Tuesday, the deceased was identified as 22-year-old Sheikh Asif Sheikh Rabibul, a resident of Bandra (East).

It was Rabibul’s brother who identified the body. He said the deceased had come to Mumbai a few years ago from Kolkata and was working at a garment factory in Shahunagar, Mahim. Further investigations revealed that the Nirmal Nagar police had arrested Rabibul in October 2013 for molesting a minor girl.

He was booked under sections 354 of the IPC and relevant sections of the Protection Of Children From Sexual Offences Act 2012. He was later released on bail. The officials also learnt that the Nirmal Nagar police were to file a chargesheet in the matter.

The attackBased on their findings, CB officials suspected the involvement of the minor’s family in Rabibul’s death and decided to question them. They went to the minor’s residence in Nirmal Nagar and asked her mother and two brothers to accompany them to their office for questioning. Refusing to cooperate, the trio started arguing with the officials and even slapped them.

Realising that the situation was getting out of control, CB officials called Nirmal Nagar police for backup. When the police personnel decided to take the trio in custody, one of the brothers brandished a knife and threatened them. But instead of attacking the police, he slashed himself with the knife and fled the spot. CB officials later nabbed him from Bhabha Hospital in Bandra.

Senior Inspector Sudhir Zambavdekar from Nirmal Nagar police station said, “We have registered a case under sections 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 332 (Voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty) and 34 (Common intention) of the IPC against the trio.” All three accused are in Crime Branch custody and are being interrogated.